Pay-telephone electric recorder.



A. F. SIPPERLEY, DECD. s. SIPPERLEY. ADMINISTRATRIX.

PAY TELEPHONE ELECTRIC RECORDER. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9. 1915.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. F. SIPPERLEY. DECD. s. Sl PPERLEY. ADMINISTRATRIX. PAY TELEPHONEELECTRIC RECORDER.

- APPLICATION FILED OCT- 9. I915- Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNllTED TATE I ALVINZA F. SIPPERLEY, OF DENVER, COLORADO; SUSIESIPPERLEY ADMINISTRATRIX OF ALVINZA F. SIPPERLEY, DECEASED.

PAY-TELEPHONE ELECTRIC RECORDER.

Application filed October 9, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVINZA F. Sirrnn- LEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pay-TelephoneElectric Recorders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the charactersof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in means for checking, recording orregistering the coins as they are introduced into or delivered to paytelephones. The object or the necessity for an instrument or device ofthis character is to prevent the possible stealing of money from thesephones as frequently happens. It is well known that the losses by thiscause, from pay telephones is exceedingly heavy and my object is, by theprovision of this checking or registering feature, to make it incumbentupon the col lector to turn in with his cash the record made by themachine during any given period. This record may be made by printingcertain marks upon a disk of paper or other fabric, the record diskbeing preferably covered by a sheet of carbon paper and the two beingsealed in such a way that the collector cannot gain access to the recordfor the purpose of altering the same. The disk or sheet upon which therecord is made,

is carried by a rotary member which has a step-by-step movementautomatically imparted after each registering or recording act, in orderto bring a new space into the path of the recording or marking element.

As illustrated in the drawing whenever a coin is dropped into the boxcontaining the checking or registering mechanism, it actuates a contactwhich closes a circuit through the coils of a solenoid and an ordinaryelectro magnet. The energizing of the solenoid imparts such a movementto the core or plunger as to cause it to strike the carbon paper andmake a proper mark upon the recording disk; while the energizing of theordinary electro magnet actuates a bell crank lever which operates pawlwhich in Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented l r. io, ierz.

Serial No. 5%,992.

there is a distinct record made for each coin,

the record of the nickel, for instance, being mchcated on the outermostzone of the recording disk; the record of the dime on an inner zone, thequarters on the zone still nearer the center of the recording disk, andso on, whereby the position of the marks or the zone in which they arelocated indicates the denomination or value of these marks in figuringthe aggregate amount which the telephone in question has earned.

Having briefly outlined my present improvement, I will proceed todescribe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanyingdrawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. In this drawing,

Figure 1 is a front view of a telephone equipped with my improvedchecking or registering attachment.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section, the section being taken onthe line 2-2, Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is a front view illustrating the recording or registeringmechanism of the instrument, with the front plate and therecording-disk-carrying rotary member removed, the view being taken inthe direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4; is an inner face view of the front plate and the disk-carryingmember, with parts broken away in order to better illustrate theconstruction.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail section taken on the line 55, Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail taken on the line 6--6 of Fig.4:.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a pay telephone instrument, its lowerportion having a coin receptacle 6 provided with a lock 7. Above thiscoin receptacle is the usual casing 8 carrying the transmitter 9 and tothe upper portion of which is attached my improved checking or recordingdevice, the

same being designated in its entirety by the numeral 10. This deviceconsists of a casing in which is inclosed a number of solenoidsdesignated 12, 13 and 1a respectively, and an electro magnet 15 which ismounted on a shelf or support 16 above the solenoids. Each solenoid hasa. core or plunger 17 which is normally held a short distance from arecording disk 18 which is covered by a carbon sheet 19, the two membersbeing connected by seals 20 which may be of any suitable construction.As shown in the drawing this seal consists of a U-shaped piece of fabricwhich passes around the edges of the recording disk 18 and the carbonsheet 19, and engages the two parts on opposite sides thus making itimpossible to separate the carbon from the recording member, for thepurpose of altering the record, without leaving evidence that the recordhas been tampered with. This seal may be of any suitable character andmay contain any desired distinguishing marks which will make itpractically im-' possible for the collector to remove the seal withoutleaving evidence of the act. The extremity of each solenoid plunger isequipped with a recording or printing device 21 whlch as shown in thedrawing is a short, narrow piece of metal adapted when driven againstthe carbon sheet 19 by the magnetic,

force developed by energizing the coils of the solenoid, to print marksin different zones on the recording disk, the said zones being indicatedby dotted circles designated 22, 23 and 24 respectively, the marks inthe outermost zone 22 being those made when the nickel coin is employedto close the circuit; those in the zone 23 being made when the dime isused to close the circuit; and those in the zone 2-1 being made when thetwenty-five cent piece is inserted in the instrument and indirectlyperforms the circuit closing function.

The record disk 18 is mounted on a rotary plate 25 which is journaled ona central projection 26 with which the front plate 27 of the device 10is equipped, this front plate being hinged to the body of the casing asshown at 28. The outermost zone of the rotary plate 25, is slightlyraised as shown at 29 and equipped with ratchet teeth 30 which are actedupon by a pawl 31 which is pivotally mounted on the upper extremity of abell crank lever 11 fulcrumed on the frame of the magnet 15 as shown at42, the pawl being held in cotiperative relation with the ratchet teeth30 by means of a spiral spring 34: which is coiled around an arm 1-0 of.the bell crank lever, one extremity bearing against the pawl and theother against a weight 32 mounted on the arm of the said lever andserving to actuate the lever and pawl to cause the latter to act uponthe ratchet teeth 30 and impart a partial rotary movement to the plate25 and the disk 18 carried thereby, immediately after each printing ormarking act of the plunger of either of the solenoids 12, 13 or 14 asthe case may be. The other arm 43 of the bell crank lever is located insuch proximity to the soft iron core 14 of the electro magnet 15, whenthe said magnet is energized, the magnetism developed will act upon thearm 43 of the bell crank lever and move the lever a sui'licientdistance, to carry the pawl 31 backward or in the reverse direction fromthe travel of the plate 25, one ratchet tooth, and as soon as the magnet15 is deenergized,

the weight 32 will act upon the bell crank lever to operate the pawlwhereby the lat ter is caused to actuate the plate 25 as heretoforeexplained.

The manner of closing the circuitwhereby the electro magnetic devices12, 13, 14 and 15 are energized for the purpose heretofore explainedwill now be described.

The rear portion 45 of the casing. of my improved device is providedwith a number of coin chutes 16, 17, and 18 in each of which is formed aslot 19 to receive a coin as a nickel, dime, twenty-five cent piece,etc., the upper extremity of each slot being open as shown at for coinreceiving purposes. Into these slots respectively project the ends 51 ofcontact members 52, 53 and 54 respectively. these members beingpivotally mounted as shown at 55, but normally held in position to causetheir extremities to occupy the slots in the path of the coins, by meansof springs 56 connected at one extremity with the top of the casing asshown at 57 and at their opposite extremities with the contact membersas shown at 58. Each of these contact members is composed of a goodconductor of electricity as some suitable metal. From the contact member52 leads an electrical conductor 59 to the coils of the solenoid 12, thetermination of the said conductor where it connects with the coils ofthe solenoid being designated by the numeral 60. From the oppositeterminal 61 of the coils of the solenoid 12 leads a conductor 62 to onepole 63 of a source of electricity 6 1 while from the opposite pole 65leads a conductor 66 to one terminal 67 of the coils of the magnet 15,while from the opposite terminal 68 of said magnet, a conductor 69 leadsto a contact bar 70 carrying a number of pairs 71 of spaced contacts,one of these pairs being adapted to engage the movable contact as theslot-entering extremity of said contact is moved downwardly by thepassage of the coin through the slot 19 whereby the circuit is completedthrough the solenoid 12 and the magnet 15. As the solenoid is energized,its plunger 17 is caused to strike the carbon sheet 23 and make a mark72 in the zone 22 of the record disk 18, while at the same time the bellcrank lever 11 is actuated to move the pawl 31 one ratchet tooth 30 inthe rearward direction or the direction opposite the travel of the plate25 whereby as soon as the solenoid and the magnet 15 are deenergizedimmediately after the making of the mark in the proper zone on the disk18, the weight 32 acting on the bell crank lever will move the lattertogether with the pawl 31 a suiiicient distance to cause the pawl actingon a ratchet tooth 30, to move the plate 25 and the disk 18 a suilicientdis tance to bring a new space in the zone 22 of the disk 18 into placeto be acted on by themarking or printing extremity 21 of the plunger 17when the next coin is inserted.

in a similar manner each of the other solenoids 13 and 1% is energizedsimultaneously with the magnet 15 and marks 73 and 7 1 formed in thezones 23 and 2% respectively of the disk 18. For instance, from themovable contact 53 a conductor 75 leads to one terminal of the coils ofthe solenoid 13 while a short conductor 76 leads from the other terminalto the conductor 62, the other parts of the completed circuit being thesame as heretofore described, when tracing the circuit through the coilsof the solenoid 12. Again from the movable contact 54 a conductor 77leads to one terminal of the solenoid 14, while from the oppositeterminal of this solenoid a short conductor 78 leads to the conductor62, the balance of the circuit being the same as heretofore described inconnection with the tracing of the circuits through the coils of thesolenoids 12 and 13.

From the foregoing description the use and operation of my improvedchecking or registering device will be readily understood. Of course,the device is capable of use in various ways, so far as the conduct ofthe collector is concerned. A practicable way of using the device, is toallow the collector, to unlock the coin box 6 and remove the money, andalso to unlock the hinged cap 27 by inserting a key in a lock 79. Thecollector may then remove the record disk and the carbon sheet 19, whichare sealed together as heretofore described. He will then deliver thisrecord disk covered by the carbon sheet to the telephone companyaccompanied by the money removed from the box 6. The carbon sheet willthen be re moved in the office of the company or unsealed, when it isevident the person in charge will be advised as to whether or not thefull amount of cash has been turned in.

Under such circumstances it is evident that the collector will have noopportunity to appropriate a portion of the contents of the cash box tohis individual use without the knowledge of his employer. Of course,ifpracticable or if desired, provision may be made for the removal ofthe record disk and its accompanying carbon sheet by a person other thanthe collector, but in case this is not practicable, or would involve toomuch expense, it is believed thoroughly practicable to have the recorddisk removed by the collector, since the same is sealed in such a waythat there is no opportunity for him to tamper with it.

In order to prevent the possible return movement of the rotary member 25due to the pressure of the pawl 31 thereon during the movementof thelatter in a direction the reverse of the travel of the plate 25, afriction spring 80 may be employed. This spring bears against theperiphery of the plate 25 with sufficient force to maintain the saidmember in its position of adjustment after each ste -by-step movementimparted by the pawl 31.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is, v

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a recordmember mounted to rotate, electromagnetic means for permanentlyrecording on said member, other electromagnetic means imparting a stepby step anovement to the said member after the record has been madethereon, and coin actuated means for simultaneously making and breakingthe circuit through the two electromagnetic means.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a recordmember mounted to rotate, electro-magnetic devices for permanentlyrecording on said member, a second electromagnetic device for impartinga step by step movement to said member after the record has been madethereon, said second device being arranged in series with the firstmentioned device, and coin actuated means for simultaneously making andbreaking the circuit through both sets of devices.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a recordmember mounted to rotate, a number of independently operableelectro-magnetic devices arranged to print on said member as the saiddevices are energized, a second electro-magnetic device arranged toimpart a step-by-step movement to the record member after each printingact, and means for simultaneously making and breaking the circuitthrough any one of the first named electro-magnetic devices and thesecond named electro magnetic device, a part of said circuitmake-and-break means projecting into the path of a coin during itstravel through the instrument.

4:. A device of the class described including a casing having a numberof coin chutes, movable contacts arranged to project into the passagesthrough said chutes, solenoids connected in operative relation with thesaid contacts, the latter being actuated by coins inserted in the saidchutes and arranged to close circuits through the respective solenoids,a member rotatably mounted and arranged to receive marks or prints asthe plungers of the solenoids are actuated during the closing of theirrespective circuits to engage said member, an electro-magnet located inthe circuit of each solenoid, and means operable by said magnet forimparting a step-by-step movement to the record member for the purposeof bringing a new printing surface into line With the marking orprinting device of any solenoid after the latter has performed theprinting or marking act.

5. A device of the class described including a casing having a number ofcoin chutes, a record disk divided into zones and mounted to rotate,electro-magnetic devices each arranged to print in a different zone onsaid disk, a second electro-magnetic device located in the circuit ofeach of the printing electro-magnetic devices, for imparting astep-by-step movement to the record disk after each printing act, andmeans for making and breaking the circuit through each of theelectro-magnetic printing devices and the electro-magnetic device forimparting rotary movement to the record disk, a part of the circuitmake-and-break means projecting into each coin chute and into the pathof a coin passing therethrough.

6. A device of the class described including a number of coin chutes, arecord disk mounted to rotate, a number of electromagnetic devicesarranged to print in different zones on said disk, the latter having aprinting surface covered by carbon paper arranged to be acted on by theprinting device, an electro-magnetic device for imparting a step-by-stepmovement to the disk, the electro-magnetic device for imparting thestep-by-step movement to the record disk being located in the samecircuit With each of the electro-magnetic printing devices, and meansfor making and breaking the circuits through each of theelectro-magnetic printing devices and the electro-magnetic diskactuating device, a part of the make-and-break device projecting into acoin chute and into the path of a coin passing therethroughsubstantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALVINZA F. SIPPERLEY.

Witnesses:

GRAon HUSTON, A. EBERT OBRIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O. 7

